Vigil Held For Phylicia Barnes At City Hall

BALTIMORE (WJZ)— Fighting the violence. A crowd shows up outside City Hall on Thursday night to call for an end to senseless murders in Baltimore, like the death of North Carolina honors student Phylicia Barnes.

Mike Hellgren has the unfolding investigation.

More than 50 people turned out in front of City Hall to remember Phylicia Barnes as police continue to search for the suspect who killed the teenager.

“While it’s important to have vigils, it’s important to light candles, it’s certainly incredibly important to pray every day for our city to get better, it really is about the work of it. Getting people to dedicate themselves to make their neighborhoods safer by speaking out and speaking up and helping us. We can’t do this alone,” said Commissioner Fred Bealefeld, Baltimore City Police.

The vigil comes one day after the medical examiner announcement that Barnes’ murder was a homicide.

Police say they know how she died but are not yet releasing that information.

“They want to limit the amount of information because they want to have control over the types of tips they get in. Also to rule out possible suspects,” said criminologist Jeffrey Ian Ross.

Teams and detectives and state police are working together on this case at city police headquarters.

There will be a local memorial service for Barnes on May 14 at the Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in northeast Baltimore. Barnes’ body has been released to her loved ones. Her funeral will be Saturday in Georgia.

Mike HellgrenWJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren came to WJZ in the spring of 2004 from KARK-TV, an NBC affiliate station in Little Rock, Arkansas, where he worked as a...More fromMike Hellgren

Honest question here: Why are they holding vigils and memorials for this young lady here in Baltimore? Wasn’t she from North Carolina and has since been buried in Georgia?

I do understand that she tragically lost her life in this area and the need/want for the people to speak out about the ever-growing violence in this area, but you don’t need to include Mrs. Barnes in your message. There are terrible criminal acts happening every day, people know this, but glamorizing one event isn’t going to bring change.

What’s needed are stronger voices in City Hall, respect for police officers, respect for each other and probably the most important is for us to have a deep willingness to get together and make a change for the better which should start with ourselves and then projected that on our children.

Honest answer here: The reason they are holding vigils in Baltimore (if you would have researched the story and the person) is because she disappeared over the Christmas holiday while visiting FAMILY in Baltimore. She was likely killed in Baltimore and the killer(s) are likely in the area as well.

She has not been buried in Georgia. Her funeral is there tomorrow May 7.

Yes there are terrible criminal acts happening everyday, but when a crime happens to any child, there should be something extra that drives people to want the senseless violence to stop.

And like Commissioner Bealefeld said, stronger voices are needed in the community, by citizens and residents speaking up and speaking out and not perpetuating the anti-snitching mentality on the community. There are enough voices at City Hall.

Thank You Michael your comment is all so True! CHANGE START FROM WITHIN AND THAT WITHIN IS YOU, US, THE PEOPLE OF OUR WORLD. In this day in time, we are lost RESPECT for each other and it’s time to get it back. How? by all the top leaders of our world to stop looking down and start looking up!

I am really sick of hearing what we need to do. I think it’s Time to start doing it. There is a lot of sick and stupid people out and about in our World. Why are we letting these people back out on the streets knowing that they are a danger to our society. It’s time to rebuild new foundations for these people and send them far away from the rest of the world. Forget wasting our money in the courts for the bad behavior people, ship them out to no man land!!!

Honestly I believe that any smart comments should be left not said. Let this young lady rest, for the people that commented, You guys aren’t the police nor are you her family or friends , so stop trying to figure out what happened and just try to make a change so this won’t happen to anymore children nor adults.